in·al·ien·a·ble

[BoyNextDoor]

in·al·ien·a·ble
inˈālēənəb(ə)l/
adjective
unable to be taken away from or given away by the possessor.

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Is there really anything that can't be taken, or given, away?

 

[Tryharder62]

Uh, oh. In the constitution it is written that those rights are given by the creator and not by our government. Hmmm

 

[BoyNextDoor]

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

BND's commentary: that may be the most eloquent and important sentence ever uttered in the Western world. Just sayin'

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
BND's commentary: This is the part I am unsure of. Are there rights which cannot be given away by the possessor?

--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

 

[Recidiva]

This is my favorite quote on the subject.

"You possess only whatever will not be lost in a shipwreck."

- El Ghazali

 

[Colonel Hogan]

BND's commentary: This is the part I am unsure of. Are there rights which cannot be given away by the possessor?

You're struggling with semantics. The "unalienable right" cannot be taken away, but a characteristic of any "right" is one's option not to exercise it in specific circumstances.

People relinquish rights all the time. They relinquish some aspect of liberty simply by being employed 40 hours or more a week.

In extreme cases, people obviously forfeit their right to life by committing suicide.

I stupidly compromised my right to pursue happiness by getting married. Twice. I reclaimed that right through divorce.